MOVING ON
a Studio ELL production
Standard Ranma/Tenchi disclaimers apply.


________________________
Chapter Two: Settling In
------------------------


Reflexes honed over a long period of time kicked in as the man awoke.
Instantly, silently, he reached out, grabbed the boy, and flung him out the
window.

Except the boy wasn't there. Hadn't been for days.

"Stupid, ingrate son," Genma growled. How dare he? How dare he run off,
leaving behind his father and his fiancee? How dare he turn his back on
honor? Who did the boy think he was?

It wouldn't be long, he knew, before Soun, not to mention his wife, made him
go look for the boy. He had no desire to be on the road now, but there would
be no arguing with the two of them, and he knew it.

Maybe he could talk Akane into coming with him, try to turn her into a
properly respectful young woman and make her see that her duty to marry the
boy must be fulfilled.

Yes, perhaps this could work out after all. Just needed to find the boy.

After all, the duty and honor of a martial artist are not trifling things to
be run away from.

The boy would just have to be retaught that lesson.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ryo-oh-ki had a new friend. That made Sasami happy. Sasami liked being
happy. She tried to be happy all the time.

So it was that as everyone piled in for breakfast, and Sasami served the
morning meal with her usual cheer and precision, she had a black piglet
perched on one shoulder, and a cabbit on her head. "Good morning everyone!"
she called.

"Mornin' Sasami," Ryoko said. "Hey, what's with the pig?"

"Isn't he cute? He was in my room when I woke up this morning, curled up
next to me and Ryo-oh-ki! Do you think he belongs to someone?"

Ranma chose that moment to walk in, heard what Sasami was saying, saw what
sat on her shoulder, and scowled.

"Oh, hi Ranma-niichan!" Sasami called.

"Buii..." the pig said.

Ranma's scowl deepened.

"Ano...what's wrong, Ranma-niichan?" Sasami asked, thinking Ranma was
scowling at her. This made Sasami sad.

Ranma walked over to her, and plucked the pig from her shoulder. "Ryouga,"
he said in a low, dangerous tone.

"Buki?"

"Hey, don't be mean to that poor piggy..." Sasami protested.

"We ain't gonna have this crap again, pig," Ranma said. He picked up the cup
of tea Sasami had set on the table for him, and poured it on the struggling
piglet.

Sasami gasped. Ryoko raised an eyebrow.

"Ranma..." Ryouga growled, only to be cut off as Ranma clamped a hand around
his windpipe.

"You sleepin' with Akane like that was bad enough, Ryouga," Ranma said. "I
knew you were sick, but I didn't think you were *that* sick." He pushed the
rather naked lost boy toward the door. "Leave."

Ryouga started to make an issue of it, then noticed the rather angry stares
directed at him, and the shocked, red-faced look of the young, innocent,
blue-haired girl. "...right." With no further ado, he got lost.

Once he was gone, Ranma sighed. "Jeez...I'm awful sorry about that. You
okay, Sasami-chan?"

Sasami blinked. "H-hai...I'm fine." She turned a sad look up at Ranma. "It
really wasn't his fault, Ranma-niichan."

"Yeah, but it woulda been th' second time, an' th' third, an' so on." Ranma
said. "He's pulled this stunt before." He sat down at the table. "He'll
probably show up again tryin' ta kill me, but at least now you all know
about his curse so we won't have any problems with that."

Everyone settled down, a bit distractedly, and Sasami finished serving
breakfast. She wasn't very happy, though.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Genma set his chopsticks down across his empty bowl. "I'm leaving," he
announced. "I'm going to find Ranma."

"Bless you, Saotome!" Tendou wailed. "The schools have a hope of being
united!"

"Akane-kun, I would like you to accompany me," the bald man said.

Akane blinked. "Me? Why would I want to go looking for that pervert?"

"Because he's your fiancee, and therefore it is your duty to bring him home
so you can marry him."

The youngest Tendou growled. "This fiancee business isn't even my idea! I
want nothing to do with it!" She glared at the two fathers. "Besides, I
can't afford to take the time off school. I *do* plan on going to
university, you know."

"And you don't even know where Ranma went, do you?" Nabiki pointed out to
Genma.

"Well, that's true..." The older man coughed. "I'm certain I can find him,
though."

Akane snorted. "I won't waste my time running around looking for that idiot.
Besides, he'll show up back here eventually. Where else could he go?"

Where else *could* he go?


          *  *  *  *  *  *


After breakfast, Ayeka confronted Ranma, bowing formally. "Ranma-san...I
wish to thank you for preventing that man from molesting my sister."

"He wouldn'ta done nothin' like that, Ayeka." Ranma shrugged. "It's just, he
don't deal well with girls bein' nice to 'im. It kinda messes with his head.
He's been sleepin' with my fiancee as a pig for nearly a year." Ranma
clenched his fists at that.

Ayeka arched an eyebrow. "Why do you allow him to persist in this
dishonorable behavior?"

The pigtailed boy looked down and to the side. "Cuz'a *my* honor. I'm th'
reason he's cursed. I kinda accidentally knocked him inta that spring at
Jusenkyo while I was chasin' my old man around tryin' t' beat th' hell outta
him right after we got cursed. I didn't even see Ryouga there, and didn't
know about th' whole thing until I was back in Japan." He frowned. "Stupid
pig...I made a promise on my honor, when I realized he'd been cursed, that
I'd keep his secret. That was before I found out he was cuddlin' up t' Akane
as her pet P-chan."

"And yet, you felt bound by your honor to keep his secret, even then." Ayeka
nodded in understanding. "It must have been very trying."

Ranma snorted. "Doesn't help that Akane's dumb as they come. I dropped hints
left an' right, day after day. I did everything but spell it out for her,
and she STILL ain't figured it out. She's seen Jusenkyo left an' right an'
up an' down an' sideways, knows everything I know about th' damn curses, an'
still she can't figure it out."

Ayeka sighed. "Sometimes, we blind ourselves to truths we do not wish to
see." Her eyes looked distant and glazed for a moment, then she snapped back
to reality, and commented, "Yet your honor did not seem to prevent you from
revealing his curse to us."

Ranma scowled. "Honor be damned, I wasn't gonna let him pull this shit on
Sasami-chan. Akane was one thing, she'd'a killed him an' me both if she ever
found out. Sasami-chan's just a little girl. That's just disgusting."

Ayeka nodded. "You acted appropriately, of course, and again I thank you."
She paused. "Are there any other animals we should be on the lookout for? I
would not wish to see this incident repeated."

"Well, Ryouga's th' only one with th' habit," Ranma said. "Other'n him, if
y' see a pink an' white c...cat," he shuddered, "Or a white duck with
glasses, or a fat, stupid lookin' panda, they're more'n likely Shampoo,
Mousse, an' my old man." He chuckled. "An' th' only other one I know with an
animal curse...you'll KNOW when he's comin'."

"Thank you very much, Ranma-san." Ayeka bowed again. "I must attend to
something, but I will wish to speak with you again later."

As Ayeka left, Ranma couldn't help but wonder what made a girl her age so
intense and serious.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Washuu watched the screen in front of her as it played Ryoko's memories from
the previous day. Initially, she'd begun this study simply as a way to
familiarize herself with the newest resident, not that she expected to need
to interact much with him, but it was always useful to know about the people
you (more or less) live with.

Then the transformative condition which he called a 'curse' was
demonstrated, and that had gotten the scientist's undivided attention.

She looked forward, very much so, to studying this Saotome Ranma, and
finding out how his condition operated. A million possibilities already
raced through her mind, but she'd need some...samples before she could draw
any conclusive analysis.

Besides, Washuu thought with a grin, he was awfully cute.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"Azaka, Kamidake," Ayeka spoke as she stepped through the front gate.

"Yes, Lady Ayeka?" The two towering logs rumbled in their deep, resonant
voices.

"If a small black piglet, a pink and white cat, a white duck with glasses,
or an overweight panda approach the residence, please prevent them from
entering, and alert me to their presence. The same goes for the young man
that left here earlier. He transforms into the black piglet. As for the
others, I will try to get descriptions of their human forms for you later."

"HAI!"

"Oh, and if a small red-haired girl should come up here at any time after
Ranma-san has departed, and is wearing the same clothing as he wore when he
left, she is to be allowed in unchallenged. She is also Ranma-san."

"HAI!"

As Ayeka turned and walked toward the shrine, Azaka turned to his fellow
guardian. "What do you suppose that was about?"

"Around here? More of the usual."

"Indeed."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ranma was rather surprised to learn that Tenchi was the only one in the
house who went to school.

Ayeka and Sasami claimed to have been privately tutored since they were very
young, and had already earned certificates to that effect. Ryoko...well, she
was an adult, he reasoned. And Washuu, who he'd been fairly sure was younger
than he was, was said by the others to be a genius who had already finished
college.

Nobuyuki had left for work, and Tenchi for school. Ayeka had taken a
breakfast tray for Katsuhito up to the shrine, and would begin her chores
for the day there. Sasami had already cleaned up everything from breakfast,
and was busy with the laundry. Ryoko had mysteriously vanished, and
Ryo-oh-ki was curled up in a sunbeam, blissfully dozing after a carrot
binge.

So it was that, with everyone otherwise occupied, Ranma began doing his part
to help out. To that end, he was currently embroiled in the task of dusting
and sweeping. Housework wasn't terribly interesting, but he'd promised to
pull his weight, and was determined to live up to that promise. Besides,
like everything else in life, he made simple housekeeping into a complex
training exercise.

Not many people can claim to be able to dust by hand-walking across a
surface on dustrags while sweeping the floor with the broom grasped between
their feet.

He'd finished most of the rooms downstairs, and was about to venture
upstairs, when he noticed something he hadn't seen earlier.

A door, set into the side of the stairwell, with a little round portal in
it.

"A broom closet?" he wondered. Figuring it might be handy to know what was
in there, and straighten it up if it needed straightening, Ranma set aside
his broom and opened the door...

...and stepped into a whole other dimension.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ryouga didn't allow himself to slow down and relax until he was in a city.

Inwardly, he felt sick...horribly sick...at what had happened that morning.

What had he been THINKING? Pulling the P-chan act with such a young,
innocent girl? The looks of disgust, distaste, and shock he'd received in
that living room had hit him harder than any punch Ranma had ever thrown, or
any eighteen-wheeler that had ever run him over on the road.

His mind then latched onto the one who had caused him that hurt, that
humiliation...the one who had saved him from doing something truly
despicable. Ranma. What was he doing here, with those people? Who were they?
Was one of them yet another fiancee? Or maybe all of them?

Settling into more familiar anger at his accursed nemesis, and the duty and
love he felt for Tendou Akane, Ryouga sat down beside a post box, pulled out
a sheet of paper, a pen, an envelope, and a book of stamps, and began to
write.

After all, now he knew where Ranma was. He even knew what city he was in,
for once. All that was left, was to tell Akane.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"What the...what IS this place?"

Ranma briefly wondered if he'd suddenly picked up Ryouga's directional
curse. He'd just been standing in the Masaki house, then walked through a
door, and now...

Now he was in some cavernous place full of stuff right out of a host of
science-fiction movies. While on the whole the place was dark, there were
pockets of light, telltale glows from machines, a screen flickering
strangely, some glowing tube full of liquid along a wall...

But mostly, there were rows upon rows upon rows upon rows of machines. Cold,
bulky, chunky hunks of metal that either sat doing nothing, or hummed with
power as they went about some unknowable task.

He looked behind him at the doorway, and opened it a crack. Through it he
could still see the Masaki living room. He looked behind him again, and
still saw the vast expanse of machines and things that completely defied
definition by his technology-illiterate mind.

"Well hello there, Saotome Ranma!" A voice called out cheerfully. Ranma
looked up to see a platform descending toward him, upon which stood a girl,
no taller than his cursed form and apparently no older than Sasami, with a
wild mane of red hair and a predatory gleam in her eyes.

"Errr...hi," he said nervously. "Hey, you're...Washuu, right?"

"That's right! But you must call me...WASHUU-CHAN!"

"Uhh...okay." *What the heck is this girl on?* Ranma wondered. "So uh...what
is this place?"

"This? Oh, this is just my Washuu-chan Super Economy Home Laboratory, Mark
III! It's really something, isn't it? A laboratory truly befitting the
greatest scientific genius in the entire universe!"

Two Washuu puppets, labelled A and B, popped up over the girl's shoulders.
"You're the best, Washuu-chan!" "You can do it, Washuu-chan!"

Ranma began edging back toward the door, nervously, as the redhead laughed.
*Scary,* he thought.

"Well now, Mister Ranma," Washuu said, looking him up and down. "I'm most
fascinated by this sex-changing condition of yours. I'm quite curious to
learn everything about how it works." In the blink of an eye, she'd changed
into a nurse uniform, and gotten...quite...taller. And considerably
more...endowed. "So just be a good boy, lie down, and let Nurse Washuu take
some...samples." She pulled on a latex surgical glove with a loud snap, and
wheeled into view a tray of instruments which looked rather daunting and
unhealthy.

Ranma bolted, slamming the lab door behind him.

Washuu sighed. "Ah well. It wouldn't be nearly as much fun if they didn't
struggle."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"Sasami! You gotta hide me!" Ranma yelped breathlessly as he dashed into the
kitchen, where the blue-haired girl was just beginning to slice vegetables
for lunch.

Sasami blinked. "Ranma-niichan, what's wrong?"

"Girl...woman...nurse...lab...samples..." Ranma stammered between gasps for
air.

The princess blinked in confusion for a moment. Her eyes widened as she
figured out what the pigtailed boy was trying to say. "Ooooh! So you met
Washuu, huh?"

Ranma nodded. "S-scary..."

Sasami giggled. "Don't be scared. She's not that bad. She's just a little
eccentric, and playful."

The pigtailed boy eyed the younger girl warily, but deflated. "Well, she
creeps me out. And what's with that lab? How th' heck does something that
big fit inside this house?"

"Ummm..." *Oh great, how do I explain THAT?* Sasami wondered. Deciding to
change the subject, she asked, "Ne, Ranma-niichan, would you go up to the
shrine and tell ojiisan and Ayeka-oneesama that lunch will be ready in about
an hour?"

Ranma nearly protested in shock, demanded an answer to his question. But the
look on Sasami's face, so cute, cheerful...so Kasumi-like...quickly disarmed
him. "Sure, Sasami-chan," he said.

As he left, Sasami returned to her cooking, frowning slightly. *We're not
gonna be able to keep hiding things from him for long. I hope he doesn't
think we're all freaks and leave, I want him to stay.*


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Word had gotten around that Ranma had disappeared.

Akane arrived at Furinkan High to discover the crowd of boys waiting for
her, as they had before Ranma came into her life.

She dispatched the horny horde easily, then went after their ringleader.
"Kunou," she growled.

"Ah, the fair and vibrant Tendou Akane. How rapturous it is to gaze upon thy
lovely countenance and bask in thine radiance without enduring the
pugnacious, nauseating visage of the accursed fiend Saotome. Come, my
love...let us away from this institution this very day, and follow our
hearts' path to love's sweet embrace!"

"Go away and leave me alone, Kunou," Akane said in a dangerous tone.

"Ah, but the tigress is spirited today! A contest is what you seek before we
ignite our passions? Then so be it. Defeat me and I shall allow you to--urk"

Akane's hand closed around Kunou's throat, and she lifted him off the
ground. "I said..." She began slamming the back of his head against the
trunk of the tree he'd been leaning against. "LEAVE!" *THUNK!* "ME!"
*THUNK!* "ALONE!!" With that, she hauled him up as high as she could, took
two steps back, and slammed his head into the ground, hard. With that, she
smoothed out her skirt and stormed off into the building.

"Nice chokeslam," Hiroshi commented from where he and Daisuke had been
watching.

"Eh, I give it a nine," Daisuke replied.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ranma entered the shrine to find Ayeka and the old priest having tea.
"Ranma-kun, come, sit with us."

"Well, I dunno. Sasami could still use some help, I'm sure. I just came t'
tell ya lunch'll be ready in an hour."

"Thank you. Now, you've been working hard all morning, right? So come join
us for tea."

The pigtailed boy shrugged. "If you insist." Taking a seat, he took the cup
Ayeka poured for him, sipping quietly for a moment. "Say, I wanna ask...that
lab..."

Ayeka stiffened, but Katsuhito merely smiled. "Ah, you've discovered
Washuu's little laboratory, I see."

"Yeah," Ranma said with a frown. "I dunno what t' make o' that. I mean, that
place is bigger than th' whole house, an' I'm pretty sure it ain't
underground 'cuz th' floor inside was level with th' floor outside. So
uh..."

The priest chuckled. "Ranma, my boy, none of us are quite sure what to make
of Washuu's lab. We've long since stopped trying to figure it out, and
simply accepted the fact that it's there, it hasn't destroyed the house--"

"--more than a dozen times--" Ayeka put in.

"--and she's soundproofed it, so her experiments never disturb the rest of
us. Usually."

Ranma shrugged. "Well, okay, if you say so." Finishing his tea, he decided
to ask about something else. "So, ojiisan, sometime I'd like t' have a real
sparrin' match with you."

"Oh?" Katsuhito raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I know you weren't even tryin' yesterday, and I couldn'ta beatcha
that easy if you were goin' all out. I wanna see just how much you were
holdin' back, is all."

The priest nodded, a small smile forming on his wizened features. "An
all-out match. It has been a while since I've really cut loose. Of course, I
won't use a live blade, you understand."

"O' course. Friendly sparrin'."

Katsuhito chuckled. "Alright, how does this afternoon sound? We'll wait
until Tenchi is home from school, so he can watch."

"Sounds good t' me. Thanks for th' tea." Ranma stood and waved. "Remember,
Sasami'll have lunch ready soon!"

Once he was gone, Ayeka set aside her teacup and frowned. "Oniisama, are you
sure this is such a good idea?"

The old Juraian prince's glasses gleamed. "Ayeka, I don't think I could
seriously hurt Ranma with anything short of the Tenchi-ken. When we sparred
yesterday, he was holding back as much, if not more, than I was."

The princess' eyes widened. "Really? Do you think he's that powerful?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Tenchi was met halfway between the bus stop and the house by a very unusual
sight.

Ayeka, Sasami, Ryoko, and Washuu were all sitting alongside the path on
folding chairs, drinking lemonade. By the trees on the opposite side of the
path stood his grandfather and Ranma. They noticed him, and waved. "Ah,
Tenchi," the priest said. "You're just in time."

"Just in time? What's goin' on, Grandpa?"

"Ranma and the old man are gonna fight," Ryoko said. "Come on, sit over here
with me, Tenchi!"

"Here, Tenchi, there's a seat for you," Washuu said, handing Tenchi a chair.

"Umm...okay." Tenchi frowned as he sat down. "Why're you guys gonna fight?"

"Ranma here asked me to spar with him, and not hold back like I did
yesterday. Likewise, I want to see what he is capable of as well. And of
course, this should also serve as a lesson for you, Tenchi, to see the level
of skill you should strive to attain."

"Yeah," Ranma said with a cocky grin. "Don't blink, wouldn't want ya t' miss
nothin'."

"Ready...and begin!" Washuu called.

The older man faced the boy, bokken held ready, stance firm. Ranma stood in
a loose, easy stance, one that didn't look very defensible, but belied the
speed and readiness with which he could move.

Eyes locked. A soft wind stirred clothes and leaves. Mouths tightened.

A bird cawed overhead.

The two men on the path seemed to vanish.

"Wow..." Ryoko said. "They're fast!"

"What's going on? Where are they?" Sasami asked.

"East five meters...ten...fifteen...moving north..." Washuu said, fingers
flying over her shadow console. "Coming back this way..."

The branches of the trees overhead stirred, and suddenly the two combatants
sailed over the onlookers, landing nimbly on the path, exchanging a flurry
of blows, then leaping away into the trees on the other side. They paused
briefly on the lower branches.

"Pretty fast, old man," Ranma said with a grin.

"I'm slowing down a bit in my old age," Katsuhito shrugged. "Well then,
enough of a breather? Shall we continue?"

Ranma replied by leaping toward the old man in a blindingly fast, and
alarmingly horizontal, kick. The priest nimbly leapt to a higher branch, but
Ranma hooked the limb he'd stood on with his toes, flipped up, and sailed
higher, snapping his other foot at his opponent's back. Katsuhito made a
most undignified squawk as he toppled toward the ground, barely catching
himself with his bokken and his right leg. Ranma dropped down on top of him,
planting a foot on his head which staggered him, then leapt off, twisting in
mid-air to face his opponent.

"That's the third time Ranma's gotten in a good hit on Grandpa since he's
been here, and I haven't seen Grandpa get him once yet!" Tenchi said with
amazement.

"Yosho still isn't using the Power of Jurai, though," Ryoko pointed out. "If
he were, this would have been over before it started."

"I'm not so sure about that," Washuu said. "Ranma's life energy is
incredibly high. If I didn't already know better, I'd swear he couldn't be a
normal Earthling."

As the two fighters disappeared into the trees again, Tenchi commented,
"Trust me, Washuu, there's *nothing* normal about *that*."

There was a sudden loud *thwack* from above, and Ranma dropped onto the
path, faceplanting in the dirt. Katsuhito landed nimbly across from him,
smirking. "I owed you that one, Ranma-kun."

Ranma picked himself up, wiped a bit of blood from a scrape on his cheek,
and chuckled. "Nice one." He then blurred into motion, charging the priest
with a cry of "KACHUU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" The pigtailed boy's arms began to
blur as he threw hundreds of punches at the older fighter in the span of a
few seconds. To his surprise, Katsuhito almost lazily deflected every single
punch with his bokken, before tagging Ranma across both wrists and poking
him lightly in the chest.

"Not fast enough," he said.

Ryoko took a long gulp from her lemonade and let out a whooping laugh. "Now
*this* is the best fight I've seen in ages!"

"I hope they don't hurt each other," Sasami said fretfully.

"Don't worry, Sasami-chan," Tenchi said. "You know how tough Grandpa is, and
I have a feeling Ranma's at least as tough."

Ranma circled his opponent warily. As he'd suspected, the old man was a lot
more than he seemed. He'd easily matched Ranma punch for punch during that
last exchange, and while the cursed boy hadn't used nearly the full speed of
the Amaguriken, anyone he'd ever fought before, with the exception of
Cologne and Happousai, would have been hard-pressed to block those punches.

He wasn't anywhere near out of tricks, of course, but this was going to be a
much tougher fight than he'd anticipated. The Hiryuu Shouten Ha would be
useless here; Katsuhito was the perfect picture of calm and focus. Mokou
Takabisha wouldn't be fast enough, and he wouldn't use that in a sparring
match in any case.

The old man's sword blurred into motion, breaking Ranma's analysis of the
fight. The tight, spiral movement of the bokken confused the pigtailed boy
at first, until he felt the telltale prickles of ki being used, and then the
early warning signs that Katsuhito was about to use an air pressure
technique.

One that was very likely to hurt.

Ranma leapt high into the air as a miniature whirlwind ripped through the
space he'd been standing in, scattering leaves and dust in its wake. His
attention was focused on the old man, who had abruptly jerked his bokken
sharply upward, so he didn't see the ki-infused tornado change course to
intercept him until it was too late.

"Ranma-niichan!" Sasami cried in alarm. The cursed martial artist was swept
up in the whirlwind, which flung him high into the air, then dissipated,
leaving him to slam face-first into the ground below.

"Grandpa! You shouldn't have done that!" Tenchi shouted.

"Why not?" Ranma ground out through a mouthful of dirt. He pushed himself up
shakily, spitting it out, and glanced curiously at Tenchi. "I told 'im t' go
all out."

Everyone stared at Ranma.

"Are you ready to call it quits for the day?" Katsuhito asked, bokken slung
over one shoulder.

"Yeah," Ranma said. "I could keep goin', but it'd be pointless. I don't
wanna pull out any desperation moves, they're too dangerous t' use in a
sparrin' match." He grinned. "You're pretty good, old man. You gotta teach
me how t' do that tornado thing."

"We'll see," the priest chuckled, a twinkle in his eye. "But for now, I
think a bath and a good hot meal are in order, don't you agree?"

The chairs were packed up, the lemonade glasses collected, and the group
moved toward the household, Ranma occasionally grimacing at the bruises from
that last attack. Somehow, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that he still
hadn't seen everything the old man had...


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Tenchi and Ranma reclined in the furo. Ranma sighed as the hot water soothed
his aching muscles.

"You sure you're okay, Ranma? You hit the ground awful hard there."

Ranma snorted. "That was nothin'. I've taken lots worse than that. May
bruise a little, but that's life, y'know?"

"If you say so." Tenchi eyed the pigtailed boy. "How the heck did you get so
*fast*, anyway? Is that all from the Amaguriken training, or what?"

"Nope," Ranma shook his head. "I've always been fast. When we were trainin',
me an' Pop never took th' easy road anywhere. It was always hikin' or
runnin' or swimmin'. Builds up your muscles an' your stamina, an' makes you
helluva lot faster." He grinned. "Th' only time we ever took an easier route
was comin' back from China. We had Shampoo on our butts, an' wet panda fur
stinks like shit, so we took a ship insteada swimmin' there like we did th'
first time."

Tenchi stared at Ranma. "You...swam. From Japan to China."

"Yeah, so?"

"SO!?" Tenchi turned to face Ranma directly. "You and your father just up
and decided to *swim* to *CHINA*!?"

"Hey, it's not that big a deal," the pigtailed boy replied with a casual
shrug. "It's good endurance trainin'."

After a moment, Tenchi laughed quietly. "No wonder you're not broken in two
from that fall. You're tough as a monster."

Ranma grinned. "Nah, you wanna know who's *really* a monster? Ryouga."

"Ryouga? That boy with the pig curse from this morning?"

Ranma nodded. "I've seen mountains less solid than that idiot. He was
already inhumanly strong and tough when he followed us back from China, but
then..."

"But then?" Tenchi prompted.

"Well, th' old ghoul who taught me th' Amaguriken decided t' train Ryouga,
too. Only she taught him a different technique entirely, the Bakusai
Tenketsu."

"Bakusai Tenketsu?"

"Yeah. I can do it too, kinda, but not near as good as th' pig. I've only
figured out how t' do it on small things. See, it's a technique that lets
you find a weak spot on somethin' like a rock, a tree, whatever, and blow it
up with a touch." He chuckled. "Freaked me out when he learned it, because
me an' my old man thought it'd work on anything, includin' an' especially
*me*. But, turns out, it's just an old construction technique, an' doesn't
work on people an' animals."

"So...what was the point of learning it then?" Tenchi asked.

"Wasn't th' technique itself, it was th' trainin'," Ranma replied. "That's
why I ain't in no particular hurry t' learn it right. Th' way I hear it, th'
old ghoul was swingin' big boulders at Ryouga, an' he was all tied up except
for one hand." The pigtailed boy grinned. "It took him a lotta tries t' get
it right, too."

"You mean..."

"Yep. Splat, face full o' boulder, ten or twenty times a day."

"And he *survived* that?"

"Hell yeah he survived it. An' ever since then, tryin' to hit him with any
one punch or kick is a waste of energy. He doesn't even feel my strongest
punches unless I rain a couple hundred in one spot all at once. And then he
just barely feels it."

"So how do you beat him?" Tenchi asked.

Ranma shrugged. "I don't, really. With his sense of direction, he usually
ends up gettin' lost in th' middle'a th' fight. And even when he doesn't, we
usually get interrupted by someone else, or by cold water. So I just stay
outta his way until he gets lost or turned into a pig, or until I figure out
somethin' to do that he'll feel without hurtin' 'im too bad. He has th'
strength advantage, but I've got th' speed advantage. I don't take our
little fights seriously unless he issues a formal challenge, an' he hardly
ever does that. Usually he just stumbles into town, shoutin' about killin'
me for makin' his life hell. I hate t' admit it, but he's probably one'a th'
few people in th' world who could ever take me in a serious fight." Glancing
at Tenchi, he added, "An' if you EVER tell anyone I said that, I'll
dislocate both your arms."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"I think I heard a sneeze," Mihoshi said, glancing around. "Oh, look,
Kiyone!"

Kiyone turned, slightly annoyed, to see her partner holding a small black
piglet. "Mihoshi, put that pig down, it probably belongs to somebody."

"Oh...yeah, I guess you're right. It has a collar and everything." The blond
put the animal down on the sidewalk, and frowned. "I hope its owner comes
for it soon, though. It sneezed...it might be sick."

Ryouga trotted sullenly away as the two women continued on their way.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Sasami smiled as Ranma stood beside her, rapidly cutting ingredients for the
sukiyaki the blue-haired girl had decided to prepare for dinner. "You're
pretty good in the kitchen, Ranma-niichan!"

Ranma smiled. "Thanks, I useta do all th' cookin' on th' road. I don't do it
as much now, cuz back at th' Tendou place, th' kitchen was Kasumi's." He
chuckled. "You'd like Kasumi. You remind me'a her in a lotta ways." He
paused, a small frown crossing his face. "Y'know, though, this is th' first
time I've worked in th' kitchen as a guy in forever."

"Why's that?"

"Well, it just ain't a manly thing t' do, y'know? Cookin' an' stuff. An'
likin' doin' it. That ain't somethin' guys do."

Sasami blinked. "Really? I didn't know that." She paused. "But what about
the Iron Chefs?"

"Th' who?" Ranma asked.

"Iron Chef. It's a show on television. The best chefs in the world compete
in an arena to cook a five-star meal using a key ingredient in every dish in
an hour. It's one of my favorite shows." She put a finger to her chin.
"Funny, all the chefs on the show are men. They hardly ever have any women
on there, except as tasters."

The pigtailed boy blinked. "Really? Hmm...I gotta see that sometime. Hey,
y'want me t' cut up some'a this?"

"Sure, that'll be really good!"

The two worked in silence for a few moments. At length, as things began to
simmer and delicious aromas began wafting gently from the pans and pots on
the stove, Sasami hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder if Mihoshi and Kiyone will
come over for dinner tonight."

Ranma's knife thunked loudly into the cutting board.

"Did you say...Kiyone?" he asked.

"Yeah...why?" Sasami blinked up at him.

"About in her early twenties, long greenish hair, policewoman?"

"Yeah, that's her. You know Kiyone, niichan?"

Ranma made a strangled sound.

"What's wrong, Ranma-niichan?" Sasami asked with concern. "Is something
wrong with Kiyone?"

The pigtailed boy turned very red. "No, nothing wrong with Kiyone at all..."
Noticing the questioning look the younger girl was giving him, he cleared
his throat noisily. "Ah...nevermind, Sasami. I just...well, I kinda met
Kiyone th' other night, before I came here."

Sasami blinked owlishly at him. Then her eyes widened. "OHHH! So it was
*you*!"

"...eh?"

The girl giggled. "So you're the guy Kiyone slept with, Ranma-niichan?
Wow..."

Ranma very nearly fell over in shock. "SASAMI!" his blush deepened. "An' how
th' heck do you know about that, anyway?"

"Mihoshi told us Kiyone met a guy, and..." Sasami blushed.

The cursed boy groaned. "No matter where you go, people gossipin' never
changes." Sasami giggled, and Ranma smiled and helped her finish dinner.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"So, are we going over to Tenchi's place for dinner?" Mihoshi asked.

Kiyone groaned. "Come on, Mihoshi, we can't go over there any old time we
feel like it."

"Sure we can! You know Sasami likes us to come over for dinner." She paused.
"Besides, don't you want to see Ranma again?"

The teal-haired detective blushed furiously. "Mihoshi!" she snapped. "The
last thing I want to do is walk right into an embarassing situation with a
guy I had a one-night stand with! A guy who's engaged, yet!" She sighed.
"Besides, we were both so drunk I bet he doesn't even remember my name, much
less what we did."

"You were drunk, and you remember," Mihoshi pointed out.

"Yeah, well...I learned how to fight it off in the Galaxy Police," Kiyone
shrugged. "Besides, he's an Earthling...they don't deal with intoxication
nearly as well here."

"Well, you can't avoid him forever," Mihoshi said in a tone Kiyone rarely
heard from the blond ditz. "He's going to be staying with Tenchi for a
while, and maybe even for good. You just want to avoid all your friends
forever because you're afraid of being in the same room with a guy you had
sex with?"

Kiyone paused, and looked at her partner. The vapidness in the other woman
was utterly gone, and her bright blue eyes pierced Kiyone's own. She could
count the number of times she'd seen Mihoshi like this on both hands, and it
never failed to unnerve her. The blond's serious side, rarely brought out
from hiding beneath layers of silly airhead, had an edge of iron that made
even Kiyone flinch. Right now, that edge was directed at her personal life,
and the teal-haired woman quickly found herself wilting under the scrutiny.
"Well, when you put it that way..." She sighed. "Alright, let's get changed
and go over there tonight."

Instantly, the airhead was back. "Hooray! I wonder what Sasami's making for
dinner tonight." A stream of speculative food-related babble issued forth
from the blond, and Kiyone found herself actually listening to Mihoshi's
droning for a change to distract herself from her own churning thoughts.

Thoughts of a cute young guy with a pigtail, and a night of unbridled
passion.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Ranma fidgeted nervously in the living room. Earlier, a phone call had
confirmed that tonight would be the night he'd have to own up for his
drunken exploits. He'd quickly run up to the guest room, gone through the
laundry Sasami had placed in his closet, and selected his black silk pants
and the white Chinese shirt he saved for occasional wear because he'd been
told it looked particularly good on him once and didn't want to chance
messing it up on an average day.

Not that he'd admit to being vain about something as silly as clothing. That
wouldn't be manly.

"Ranma, you're wound tighter than a spring," Tenchi said. "What's wrong? You
should relax."

"Y'know Mihoshi and Kiyone are comin' over tonight, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

Ranma quickly explained what had happened, his face turning progressively
redder as he finished his tale. By the time he was done, Tenchi was quite
red himself.

"I don't think you should be so nervous, Ranma," he finally said. "I mean,
I've known Kiyone for a while now...she's really quite a nice person. You'll
get along well." He paused, and blushed again. "I mean, you already got
along well with her, but..."

"It's just that I don't know nuthin' *about* her, man," Ranma sighed. "All I
know is she was gettin' drunk cuz'a Mihoshi...I didn't think she was that
bad, but I've only known her one day...an' that she's some kind'a cop, an'
kinda lonely. An' real good-lookin'..."

"Well, that's a start," Tenchi offered optimistically.

"Man, this is stupid," Ranma almost shouted. "What th' hell am I thinkin'? I
already got enough girl problems without makin' this mess even worse! Maybe
I should just split..."

"Too late for that," Tenchi said, cocking his head toward the front door.
"They're already here."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"It's nice of you to let us come over for dinner," Kiyone said, bowing to
Sasami.

The blue-haired girl giggled. "You know you're welcome anytime, Kiyone," she
smiled.

The detective fidgeted a bit nervously. "Is...is it true, what Mihoshi said?
A boy named Saotome Ranma is staying here?"

"Mm-hmm. I've heard you two get along really well."

Kiyone made a strangled sound. "He's...been talking about it?"

"Oh! Only when I mentioned your name. He was a bit surprised that we knew
you, and after what Mihoshi told us yesterday, I figured out why."

"I see." She was about to say more, when a motion from behind Sasami drew
her attention. She looked up to see...HIM. He was walking slowly forward,
hands jammed in his pockets, his muscular biceps fully exposed by the
sleeveless white silk shirt he wore. He'd shaved since that night, and
looked much cleaner and healthier...not that he'd looked unhealthy to begin
with.

"Yo, Kiyone," he said. "Umm...nice t' see you again."

"Umm...good to see you again too, Ranma," the teal-haired woman said,
reddening slightly. "You shaved, I see."

"Yeah, I looked like hell by the time I got here. You look even prettier
than I remember."

There was an awkward pause, which Mihoshi broke with a loud rumbling of her
stomach. "Oh, sorry, I'm just so hungry," she said sheepishly.

"Well, why don't we all go sit down for dinner?" Sasami suggested. "We made
sukiyaki!"

"Yay! I love sukiyaki!" Mihoshi cheered, bouncing happily into the dining
room. Sasami followed, bound for the kitchen, and Kiyone and Ranma trailed
at a more sedate pace, casting glances at one another and blushing.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Dinner wasn't exactly awkward, though some of the sly glances Ryoko was
giving the new houseguest and the teal-haired detective were causing a
palpable aura of nervous embarassment.

"So you have four fiancees, eh Ranma-kun?" Nobuyuki asked, glasses gleaming.
"Lucky dog..."

"Actually, three--well, actually, I ain't sure how many Pop set me up with,"
the pigtailed boy shrugged. "He only bothered settin' one of 'em up
proper...that's th' one with his old trainin' partner Tendou. On th' road,
he sold me off a few times for food or whatever, an' then skipped out on
it...I was too little t' know what th' heck was goin' on. Then there's th'
Chinese girl, Shampoo. She ain't exactly my fiancee, she just thinks I hafta
marry her 'cuz I beat her in a fight, an' her village has these crazy laws
about outsiders beatin' their women. There's a couple crazies after me too,
but I don't want nuthin' t' do with them, not even as friends."

"Hmm. Still, for a young man such as yourself, it can't be all bad, hmm?"
Tenchi's father had a decidedly lecherous gleam in his eyes.

"Hey now, I ain't like that!" Ranma protested.

"Really? That's not what we heard," Ryoko purred. Ranma and Kiyone both
turned crimson.

"Ryoko-san!" Ayeka snapped. "Please, pay her no attention, Ranma-san."

"Oh, come on, I'm just teasing. Don't be so uptight, Ayeka!" The cyan-haired
woman poured some sake into a glass and bolted it back, then let out a loud
whoop.

"Ill-mannered..." Ayeka growled.

"Ranma-niichan, are you sure you're okay? I mean, from earlier..." Sasami
looked at Ranma worriedly.

Ranma smiled. "Eh, I'm fine, Sasami-chan."

"What happened?" Kiyone asked.

"Oh, you two missed the coolest fight!" Ryoko said, exhaling breath that
could run a Toyota. "Ranma an' Gramps here put on quite a show this
afternoon."

"Really? Wow..." Mihoshi looked excited.

Kiyone, meanwhile, looked confused. "You two..." she gestured at Katsuhito
and Ranma. "Fought? Why?"

"Just a friendly sparring match," the old priest replied, sipping his tea
calmly. "Ranma-kun is quite the skilled martial artist. He certainly gave me
a run for my money."

Ranma chuckled. "Yer *still* holdin' out on me, jiisan. One o' these days,
I'm gonna getcha t' really cut loose on me."

Katsuhito smiled. "Really, now? Hmm...perhaps, we shall see."

"It didn't look like Grandpa was holding back when he did that tornado
thing," Tenchi said.

The pigtailed boy shook his head. "If it'd been a real fight an' not a
sparrin' match, that wouldn't'a been nuthin'. But most'a th' ways I coulda
countered that're just too dangerous t' use just for sparrin'. After he
pulled that one, I figured it'd be good t' quit before things got too
rough..." Sipping his tea, he continued, "Next time, though, without an
audience, I'll put *you* in th' dirt, jiisan." He grinned.

The priest chuckled. "You thrive on challenges, I see."

"How d'you think I got as good as I am?"

"Heh," Katsuhito replied. "Most people would call that attitude arrogance,
Ranma-kun."

"I call it confidence," the cursed boy said, digging into his rice.

"I liked the bit where you did all those punches, myself," Ryoko said.

"You could *see* that?" Tenchi asked. "All I saw was a blur."

"I have fast eyes," the cyan-haired woman shrugged.

"Pity they're connected to such a slow brain," Ayeka mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Thank you for the excellent meal as always, Sasami," the princess covered.

"Ranma-niichan helped!" the blue-haired girl chirped.

"Wow, he can fight *and* cook *and* looks like that? No wonder you have all
those girls fighting over you," Ryoko said.

"Perhaps you would prefer him to Tenchi-sama, Ryoko-san?" Ayeka suggested.

"Hmmm...nah."

People began to drift away from the table at that point. As Kiyone finished
eating at a rather sedate pace, she studied the boy in the white Chinese
shirt, and felt a million and one questions and thoughts whirling through
her head.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


After dinner, Kiyone had availed herself of the restroom to freshen up. When
she'd come back, Ranma was nowhere to be found. "Sasami, where's...?"

"He stepped outside for some fresh air," the younger girl said with a smile,
inclining her head toward the door. "Why don't you go talk to him?"

"Yeah, I think I will...thanks."

Kiyone stepped out onto the veranda, shivering a bit as the slight chill in
the evening air caught her. She looked around, but couldn't see any sign of
the pigtailed boy. Of course, the Masaki property was rather large; he could
be up at the shrine, or in the fields, or by the lake, or...

"Yo, Kiyone."

...or up on the roof. Kiyone stared up at the teenager who was perched
effortlessly on the edge of the slanted red roof, staring off over the trees
into the star-studded sky.

"God I missed bein' out in th' country," Ranma said. "Didn't realize it till
I came out here. You don't see th' stars like this in Tokyo, even in th'
less crowded places. Too many lights an' too much crap in th' air."

"It is nice out here," Kiyone said distractedly. Her eyes widened as Ranma
suddenly stood up, and vaulted off the roof. *Oh gods, is he crazy? Is he
trying to kill himself?* She froze for a second, trying to figure out what
to do, when suddenly Ranma touched down perfectly on the toes of one foot in
front of her, grinning.

"Yeah...c'mon, let's go sit on the shrine steps, okay? Things're gettin'
noisy in th' house."

The detective stared at the younger man. "Wha--how did you?" She gestured at
the roof.

Ranma laughed. "Th' day I can't jump a little roof like that is th' day I'm
tryin' t' jump it from th' grave."

Kiyone recalled some of the things she'd heard about the young man over
dinner. He seemed to be a favorite topic of conversation in the house
tonight; now she was beginning to see why. "You do things like that often
then?"

"Yeah, th' specialty o' th' Saotome school is midair combat." He smirked. "A
roof like this ain't nothin'."

"Wow."

"I'm gettin' kinda tired o' talkin' about myself so much, though," Ranma
said, sighing. "You'd think nothin' exciting ever goes on around here, th'
way everyone keeps askin' me stuff over an' over again." He chuckled. "It's
kinda fun talkin' about it sometimes, but..."

"Well, you are a rather unique person, Ranma-kun," Kiyone said, blushing.

"Heh." They reached the shrine steps, and sat down. "So, Mihoshi's that
crazy partner o' yours, huh? I guess she is a bit of a ditz..."

"You have *no* idea, trust me."

"If you say so." He shrugged.

"And she comes up with the weirdest notions, like you being able to turn
into a girl..." Her laughter trailed off as she noticed the expression on
Ranma's face. "Uhh...?"

"With cold water, yeah. I'm amazed I went through most of a day without
gettin' splashed..."

"Really?" Kiyone asked, fascinated, trying to picture the handsome young
warrior as a woman.

"Yeah. I'll show ya later. I don't like it much, but I'm stuck with it."

"How...?"

"I'll tellya all about it later," he promised. He then fidgeted nervously.
"Ummm...about th' other night."

The teal-haired woman blushed. "Yeah, about that."

"Look, I'm sorry...I mean, if you're upset about what happened."

"Upset? It was *my* idea, remember?"

"Yeah, but neither of us..."

"Look, Ranma," Kiyone said, taking the boy's hands and staring straight into
his eyes. "I for one do not regret what happened that night. You shouldn't
either. Regardless of whether or not we were drunk, we're adults and we both
made the decision to sleep together. The only thing I regret is having had
to leave when I did, but I was on call."

Ranma nodded, looking relieved. "O-okay then. I just was worried maybe..."
He shrugged. "Anyway, so what happens now?"

"What happens now is nothing, unless you want something to happen now," the
detective replied. "We can be friends, since you're staying around for a
while. We can go out once in a while if you want to, I'd be happy to have
someone to hang out with other than Mihoshi for a change, and I haven't been
on an actual date in forever. We can even..." She blushed. "Well, if you
wanted to again, I wouldn't mind a bit."

The pigtailed boy turned beet red.

"But I'm not going to try to force you to do anything," she told him.
"Sounds to me like you've had enough of that already. And...I do feel a
little silly getting involved with someone who's already engaged."

Ranma shrugged. "Th' engagement thing ain't my idea. If it had been, I
wouldn't be here now, I'd be back in Tokyo with my fiancee. But like I said,
that just ain't workin' out." He sighed, and looked at Kiyone. "I can't even
make up my mind about th' whole mess because I don't really get t' know any
of 'em that well. There's always some crap or other goin' on that screws
everything up. It gets old. It got old."

"Yeah, I can imagine." Kiyone watched her breath fog up in front of her for
a moment. "Can they really make you do anything you don't want to do,
Ranma?" He opened his mouth, but she stopped him. "Be honest. If these
people tried to come in here and drag you kicking and screaming back to
Tokyo, could they?"

The boy was silent for a moment. "I don't really wanna hurt anyone, Kiyone."

"But could you get rid of them without hurting them?"

"Sure, I guess," Ranma shrugged. "Th' only ones that can outfight me are th'
ghoul, th' old pervert, an' maybe Ryouga."

"Then I'd say it's a matter of deciding to live your life for yourself,
instead of letting all these people run your life for you," Kiyone pointed
out. "And you know it, or else you'd never have run away."

The pigtailed boy blinked...then smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I
could tell 'em all t' go t' hell, an' they couldn't do nuthin' about it. I
just don't wanna hurt nobody's feelins..."

"What about your feelings though, Ranma?"

"I..." He paused. "I don't even know what my feelins are, Kiyone."

"Well then, that's what you'll have to figure out while you're here, isn't
it?" she asked. Then, with a small smile, she added, "And I'll be here to
help you. I want to be your friend, Ranma...and maybe more, but we both need
to get to know each other better first before we see what happens. But
definitely friends, right?"

"Yeah, definitely." He put an arm around the detective and hugged her close.
"Thanks, Kiyone."

"Anytime, Ranma." She leaned into his shoulder and smiled.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Half an hour later, the two began making their way back to the house. As
they walked, there was a sudden loud shout and a splash, which sent a
titanic column of water from the lake into the air.

Naturally, a sizable amount of it ended up on Ranma. "Crap," the redhead
said, blowing futilely on her dripping bangs in irritation.

Kiyone's eyes widened. "Wow...you weren't kidding..."

Ranma glanced at her, shrugged, and gave a wry smile. "Toldja so."

Kiyone tilted her head and eyed the boy-turned-girl for a long moment.

"Um...?" Ranma began to fidget under the scrutiny, cheeks reddening.

"I thought you'd be taller."

Ranma facefaulted.

Halfway back to the house, another small redhead suddenly appeared in their
path. "Hiiiiii!" Washuu enthused.

Ranma tensed. "Hi, Washuu," Kiyone said.

Washuu walked up to Ranma. "So, Saotome-chan, we meet again..." The
spiky-haired scientist leaned left and right, looking Ranma over from head
to toe. She leaned forward and poked at Ranma's chest with a finger, then
made an unsolicited grope of said chest.

"Washuu!" Kiyone snapped.

"Oi, cut that out," Ranma growled, cheeks flaming red.

"Hmm. Well, they're definitely real..."

"OF COURSE THEY'RE REAL!" the martial artist bellowed, then smacked her
forehead. "Shimatta, what a thing for me to say..."

"And you say you acquired this...condition by falling into a pool of water
in China?" the scientist queried.

"That's right," Ranma said.

"Fascinating." She reached up and plucked one of Ranma's hairs out at the
root.

"OWCH!"

"Pardon me, I *must* get back to my lab to analyze this," Washuu said with a
wave before rushing off.

"Geez...what th' hell was THAT for?" Ranma grumped, rubbing at her head.

"That's just Washuu for you," Kiyone said, sighing. "She does that to
everybody, for the most part. Science and manners don't mix, I suppose."

"Sheesh." Then Ranma paused, blinking at a sudden thought. "Hey, you don't
suppose that crazy girl might actually be able t' cure me, do ya?"

Kiyone shrugged. "It's possible. Eccentric as she is, she *is* a scientific
genius. I wouldn't put anything past her."

"Hmmm..." The martial artist pondered silently as they continued toward the
house. Near the porch, the pair ran into a sopping wet Ayeka, whose violet
locks were in severe disarray, and whose kimono had come as close to being
utterly destroyed as possible without compromising her modesty.

"Ah, Ranma-san!" Ayeka bowed.

"Yo, Ayeka. Um, what happened...?"

The princess growled. "This is all that demon woman's fault."

"What's that?" Ryoko asked as she appeared from seemingly thin air. "You
said you were gonna take a bath, so I gave you a bath."

"You...INSUFFERABLE CREATURE!" Ayeka glowered at Ryoko, who merely crossed
her arms and smirked.

Kiyone rolled her eyes. "This happens practically every day," she whispered
aside to Ranma.

"I...see," the redhead replied, blinking.

The situation was defused by Sasami appearing at the door. "Oneesama!
Ranma-neechan! You could catch a cold like that!" Sighing, she adjusted the
tray she had in her hands. "Anyway, if you and Ryoko-neechan are done
fighting," she addressed her sister, "I'm taking some sake to the bath for
you." Then she glanced at Ranma. "Ah! Ranma-neechan, you should take a bath
too."

Ranma waved her off. "I'll wait until the others are finished. I didn't get
soaked as bad as Ayeka did."

Of course, everyone but Ranma knew that in this house, men had a different
bathroom entirely from the women, courtesy of Washuu. But nobody wanted to
let on about that just yet.

"Okay then. The rest of you, don't keep Ranma-neechan waiting for the bath
too long! And no falling asleep drunk in the bath this time, Ryoko-neechan!"
With that, Sasami retreated into the house.

"Well, I should probably collect Mihoshi and head home, but knowing her,
she's gonna be in the bath getting drunk too," Kiyone sighed.

"Why don't you go ahead an' join 'em in th' bath," Ranma suggested. "I gotta
grab some hot water an' a dry shirt an' see if Sasami needs any help
cleaning up."

Kiyone considered that, then nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."
Leaning over, she kissed the redhead on the cheek, then smiled. "You know
you're cute in both forms?"

"So I've been told," the smaller girl replied with a blush.

The detective chuckled softly. "Ja, Ranma-kun."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"So, Kiyone, you and Ranma really did the old mattress mambo, huh?"

The various women of the house, save Sasami and Washuu, were soaking in the
pocket-dimension springs, drinking sake, and engaging in a little girl
talk--much to Kiyone's chagrin.

"You don't have to be so vulgar about it, Ryoko," Kiyone muttered, cheeks
flaming from embarassment as opposed to drink. "But yes, we did do...it
together."

"What was he like? Details, girl!"

"Ryoko-san! Please do not antagonize Kiyone-san about her personal affairs
in such a vulgar manner!"

"Oh come on, Ayeka, you know you're curious too."

"I most certainly am! Not. Most certainly not." The princess gave a small
hiccup, and reached for the sake.

Kiyone reddened even further, and also helped herself to some sake. Taking a
long sip, she began, "Well..."


          *  *  *  *  *  *


"So, Ranma-kun, you and Kiyone really did it together, eh?" Nobuyuki asked,
grinning slyly at the teen.

"Um, yeah, we did..."

"So, boy, what was she like? Come on, man to man, tell me all about it."

Ranma flushed. "That's kinda personal, dontcha think?"

"Dad! Cut it out!" Tenchi complained. "Geez, do you have to be such a perv
all the time?"

"Well this is a special occa--" He caught the glance his son was giving him,
and sighed. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. I guess I'll just go have a bath
instead."

"Hey, wait, the girls are--" Ranma blinked as the middle-aged man slid open
the door to the bathroom, revealing it to be utterly empty on the other
side.

"You two wanna join me?" Nobuyuki asked.

"No thanks, Dad," Tenchi replied. "And that goes for Ranma too--I know what
you're thinking," he warned.

"Fine, fine..." The door slid shut. Ranma continued to stare at it for a
long moment.

"I coulda sworn..."

"Just so you know," Tenchi cautioned Ranma, "Don't let your guard down
around my dad. He's liable to try to peep on you in your cursed form."

The pigtailed boy shrugged. "I'm used enough t' *that*. I know how t' handle
perverts." As he headed for the kitchen to see if Sasami needed any help,
Ranma continued to ponder the empty bath.

*I coulda SWORN...!*


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Later that evening, Ranma shambled wearily out of the bath. As he headed for
the stairs, he caught sight of Ryoko, passed out on the sofa in an
ultra-short yukata that afforded quite a spectacular view; a sake bottle lay
on the floor next to one splayed-out hand. Shaking his head, he moved on.

Flashes of light lit the portal in Washuu's door; Ranma shuddered for a
moment before moving on to the stairway.

Reaching the guest room, he found his futon already rolled out for him, and
Sasami standing there with a cheerful smile. "Sasami-chan?" he asked.

"Just wanted to say goodnight, Ranma-niichan," the blue-haired girl said.

Ranma chuckled, and patted her on the head. "Goodnight, Sasami-chan."

Once the young girl had left, and Ranma had settled down to sleep, he
thought back over the day. There were definitely some things going on in
this house he couldn't make sense of, but everyone here was really
nice...not nearly as quick to jump to unreasonable conclusions as the people
he'd left behind in Nerima. And there was Kiyone...

For some reason, thinking of Kiyone gave the pigtailed boy a really good
feeling.


          *  *  *  *  *  *


Far to the east of Okayama, sleep did not come easily for three girls.
Despite their rivalries, all of them were thinking variations on the same
thought as they drifted off into fitful slumber:

*Ranma, where ARE you?*